Russian official blasts US restrictions on Kaspersky Lab as ‘step in the wrong direction’

The US administration and Congress are wrong in believing that cooperation with Russia in cyber security is impossible, Alexander Shokhin said

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YEKATERINBURG, July 12. /TASS/. Restricting the use of Kaspersky Lab products in the US is a step in the wrong direction, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, told TASS on the sidelines of the INNOPROM industrial exhibition. He noted that the US administration’s actions are out of tune with statements made by President Donald Trump at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Hamburg.

"This [restrictions concerning the use of Kaspersky Lab products in the US - TASS] is a step in the wrong direction, and it is especially vexing that this [occurred - TASS] after the meeting in Hamburg where Trump said just the opposite," he highlighted.

"The US administration and Congress are wrong in believing that cooperation with Russia in cyber security is impossible. Although Trump said in Hamburg he is willing to cooperate with Russia, after returning to Washington he was quick to agree with Congress, and steps against Kaspersky confirm that," Shokhin added.

He noted that the nationalization of cyber security as a whole is a definite trend. "We too are trying to switch to our own software and are deploying servers on Russian soil. However, since Kaspersky Lab said it was prepared to uncover encryption keys, that is, to provide all control channels, here [in the US administration’s actions - TASS] there is a clear restraint on a business, which is willing to be open and transparent," Shokhin concluded.

The Trump administration earlier excluded Kaspersky Lab from two lists of suppliers whose products can be purchased for use by government agencies, Reuters reported. The US mass media in recent months has been abuzz with allegations that Kaspersky Lab is closely linked to Russia’s intelligence services. The company’s director Yevgeny Kaspersky said in an interview with the Associated Press that it is ready to give US authorities the source code of the software developed by the company for examination to dispel all suspicions.